Family’s warning after pet dies from deadly cat flu days after stay at Logan pound

A Logan cat owner is warning pet owners of a deadly winter cat flu which killed her beloved moggy days after it was locked up in a local pound. VIDEO

A Logan cat owner is warning pet owners of a deadly winter cat flu which killed her beloved moggy days after it was locked up in a local pound.

Waterford West cat owner Stephanie Schaw said her seven-year-old cat, Puss, died three days after her family paid $108 to get the cat released from the Logan City Council pound at Kingston last month.

The cat, which was not vaccinated against the cat flu, was locked up in the pound for two nights after escaping from the family’s new home in Logan after they moved from Ipswich.

A Logan cat owner is warning pet owners of a deadly winter cat flu which killed her beloved moggy days after it was locked up in a local pound. Waterford West cat owner Stephanie Schaw said her seven-year-old cat, Puss, died three days after her family paid $108 to get the cat released from the Logan City Council pound at Kingston last month.

“She spent two days in the Logan pound before we saw her on a lost pets Facebook page and went to the pound to pick her up,” Ms Schaw said.

“As soon as she was picked up, it was obvious she was not well and couldn’t breathe properly for two days. The next morning she was dead.”

Ms Schaw said her brother, Michael Schmidt, who lives 6km away in Logan, had to pay $2000 in vet fees after his tom cat, Sully, contracted the deadly disease when nabbed by the pound on the same day as Puss.

“Sully was at the same Logan pound at the same time and caught on the same day but was only there half a day because he was microchipped and Puss was not,” Ms Schaw said.

“Sully had the same symptoms as Puss, and was taken to the James St vet at Beenleigh.

“My brother’s cat had severe constipation due to stress from being captured and being in the pound.

“Sully is having ongoing vet visits and my sister-in-law is getting a report from his urine and blood tests,” she said.

Ms Schaw warned Logan pet owners of the costs of animals being detained at the pound and the dangers of catching the deadly cat flu or kennel cough.

Logan City Council does not vaccinate cats against the deadly feline virus on arrival at the pound even though the highly contagious upper respiratory disease can lead to permanent eye damage, pneumonia and death.

The council also said it did not take responsibility for cats which developed cat flu while impounded even though feline influenza is highly contagious.

Waterford West cat owner Stephanie Schaw said her seven-year-old cat, Puss, died three days after her family paid $108 to get the cat released from the Logan City Council pound at Kingston last month.

“There is no way to prove whether the cat was a ‘carrier’ prior to being impounded, or whether it contracted cat flu while straying and interacting with other cats, before being impounded,” a council statement said.

“If an animal (cat or dog) becomes unwell while impounded, additional veterinary attention is provided and, where possible, the animal’s owner consulted in a bid to return their pet as soon as possible.

“Council does not vaccinate all cats on arrival as it can be stressful on cats. Some cats that seem healthy on impoundment, may be carriers of the cat flu.”

Owners who reclaim their cat from the council’s Animal Management Centre are given a fact sheet on Feline Influenza and told to be on the lookout for relevant symptoms.

The disease is caused by an airborne virus and has a range of symptoms from coughing, fatigue and loss of appetite through to mouth and eye ulcers.

Cats that are unvaccinated; very young or very old; have low or compromised immunity; have experienced a stressful situation; or those that may be sick, are more at risk of catching cat flu.

An outbreak of cat flu at the Fraser Coast pound in August last year claimed the lives of 24 cats.